


The Lust at the Pole

by afinch



Category: His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M, Male Slash, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 10:50:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11850039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afinch/pseuds/afinch
Summary: There is a man. There is a bear. There is a sarcastic dæmon.There's an instant attraction at Novy Odense.There is kindness, and kindness repaid.





	The Lust at the Pole

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Harvey_King](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harvey_King/gifts).



_one_  
The balloon was a lonely place. Men got lost in the place of dreams that high above the clouds and bears, Lee noted, were no different. He said nothing in the morning of the blankets.

 _two_  
He said nothing in the morning of the blankets, nor of Iorek's whimpering grunts. Nor also of the tent in the blanket that sood for a good hour or so. The bear deserved his privacy, or so Lee reckoned.

 _three_  
The bear deserved his privacy, or so Lee reckoned, but he was wrong. The bear wanted only to pull his dreams from the clouds and make them a reality in the nation-less sky.

* * *

"Lee, you ain't seriously thinkin' what I think," Hester broke Lee's thoughts. 

"Hrm?" he looked sleepily at his dæmon. "Goshdarnit, Hester, will you leave a man to his thoughts?"

Hester peeked her nose out from the thick rug she and Lee were under. "Not when _you_ keep getting in the way," she retorted. 

Lee reached a hand to his stiffening cock. The bear was silent, curled away from Lee. He'd been deep in Lee's thoughts.

Hester nipped at his face, "Don't you even. We got a long ride ahead and you'll be all distracted. We can't be having that."

Lee winked at Hester, "Go see if his is bigger."

The hare didn't take kindly to this and hopped away from both of them. She didn't last long against the bitter cold and eventually settled in Lee's hood.

"Hurry up," she hissed at him. "Iorek isn't going to sleep forever."

* * *

_four_  
The balloon was a lonely place. Bears got lost in the place of dreams that high above the clouds and men, Iorek noted, were no different. He said nothing in the morning of the blankets.

 _five_  
He said nothing in the morning of the blankets, nor of Lee's grunts and Hester's whimpering. Nor also of the tent in the blanket that stood for about twenty minutes. The man deserved his privacy, or so Iorek reasoned.

 _six_  
The man deserved his privacy, or so Iorek reasoned but he was wrong. The man wanted only to pull his dreams from the clouds and make them a reality in the nation-less sky.

* * *

Iorek hadn't been sleeping; he liked the soft murmurs of man and dæmon that filled the boat. He'd been alone for so long, and sometimes the desire to be a part of something grew. He thought back to Iona, the shebear he had been banished over. 

Too often in his dreams, Lee replaced Iona. Iorek smiled as Hester and Lee confirmed that Lee felt the same way. He let himself roll over, his cock enlarged and held back a smile as Lee gasped.

"Yea, it's bigger. Lord knows you're not going to get over it," Hester said. He didn't catch what Lee said in response, but the sarcastic mutterings of Hester carried. "No use, you're all distracted. Honestly, Lee, we gotta find you someone your own kind. Norilsk tomorrow, we'll go looking."

Iorek kept his breathing simple. At Norilsk they would depart from each other. They were both solitary, that was how it was. A exiled bear and a Texan man were not to be.

* * *

_seven_  
What happened at Norilsk is a story that took seven weeks and Lee sleeping with the wrong woman to sort out. A large tale, not suited for a place in this one. Perhaps later.

* * *

The polar winds were fierce, sweeping them east across the Laptev sea. 

"With any luck, we can hold on to Barrow," Lee said to Iorek. The balloon was flying fast, and they'd make it before they ran out of food. "If not, we'll have to crash on the pack ice and pray."

"I do not pray," Iorek said calmly. "I am home on the ice. If that is our fate, I will provide."

"Iorek one day I'm going to pay you back all this kindness you're showing me," Lee said, and he sounded touched. "Now hold on, looks like a northern swell above. Hopefully it won't shift."

Hester rolled her eyes at Iorek, and chided Lee, "Now Lee, you've gone and ruined any chance we had at luck."

Lee swore under his breath and Iorek braced himself against a corner.

* * *

_eight_  
The ice was bitter and cold and the dreaming was shared under the blankets. Hester tried her best to avoid the both of their cocks. She said nothing to Lee in the morning.

 _nine_  
She said nothing to Lee in the morning and he didn't look her in the eye either. The horizon stretched unimaginably far, but Hester was at home, her feet finding a place on the ice. Both of 'em could have their privacy to chat if she just scurried ahead.

 _ten_  
Both of 'em could have their privacy to chat if she just scurried ahead, and she was right. They talked of worlds of men and bears, dæmons and sky armour, and Hester scurried against the cold and tried not to feel so alone.

* * *

Lee's compass was all wonky, but Hester could perk her ears and sniff the air and pull things from it Lee's compass couldn't hope to. Iorek would quietly confirm and they would set off.

Novosibirskiye was the small fort they hoped to make. A storm was rolling in and they were pushing as hard as they could. Iorek carried most of the supplies, dragging the balloon behind.

"Lee, you know how to make it up to him," she murmured. "I know it ain't fair, him lugging it all. Give him a reprieve when we hit the fort."

Lee arched a brow at her. "And you won't complain?" he asked, scritching her ears. 

"Hell, Lee, I'll complain either way. You might as well make it worth your while."

Sometimes love means giving something up. Sometimes it means not getting anything. Hester could manage the lonely.

* * *

_eleven_  
Two beings, one bear, one male, shared a small bed in a small fort on a small island.

 _twelve_  
The cock measuring contest went to the bear. So did the stamina contest. Adjusting for the baculum handicap, the bear still won.

 _thirteen_  
The hare slept by the fire, twitching her ears every so often. She had nothing to dream of but Lee's happiness.

* * *

Lee shifted his ass up, one hand supporting himself, one hand on his own cock.

"Worry not, my friend," Iorek murmured. He slid his paw down Lee's hips and covered Lee's cock. "You just enjoy."

Lee whimpered. His cock was dripping with precum already. Iorek was gentle, moving his massive thumb up and down in a smooth motion. Lee's hands clenched into the sheets.

"Don't hold back," Lee implored his friend, his voice twisting with desperation.

Iorek stroked Lee's shoulder with his other paw. "Patience, my friend," he said in a low chuckle.

Lee was quivering with anticipation. Iorek pressed his cock at Lee's entrance and pushed in gently. Both let out low moans that seemed to shake the fort walls. Hester's nose twitched.

Iorek thrust.

Outside the Aurora sung.

Lee rocked against the cock, panting with effort.

Iorek thrust.

Outside the winds shifted south.

Lee's cock exploded, sticky white cum covering Iorek's paw. The bear's thumb shifted, moved faster, urging the cock to stiffen again. 

Iorek thrust.

Hester jumped on the bed, panting against Lee. She twisted underneath him and arched her back against the rhythm of Iorek's paw.

Iorek thrust.

Lee's legs gave out, but the bear was right there without missing a beat, paw curled underneath him, holding him up. 

Iorek thrust.

Outside the Aurora twisted against a black sky. 

Hester writhed against Iorek and Lee in pure ecstacy. 

Iorek spilled his cock over the man's back, dripping onto the sheets. He laid on the bed carefully, keeping his paws on Lee's body. 

"Lord," Lee said, or maybe it was Hester. "Shift those winds back North."

And the winds, aided by the Aurora, abided.

* * *

_fourteen_  
The story at Novosibirskiye repeated nightly. Each night, Lee found a reason to pay his friend back for a kindness. Each morning, Iorek sought a kindness to bestow on his friend. Each day, Hester shook her head and chided the both of them about anything she wanted.

**Author's Note:**

> I pulled place names from the board game Peril Of The Pole.


End file.
